Fog Mirrors
by Shannon McFarland
Summary: "Parting is such sweet sorrow," Neil whispered. "Until next week." The bus door creaked shut, and I watched him grow smaller and smaller in the dim lights, knowing that next week Marcelline would destroy us.


I pressed my face against the glass, watching the rain shatter on the window. Boarding school never seemed to get better every year; the girls had too much drama among them. I rolled my eyes as my roommate Rhea dropped her luggage on the bed. "Dru, I can't believe this is happening. These new rules about leaving campus are killing me; now there's no chance of us ever seeing boys."

I squinted at the window and saw the Gothic towers of the nearest school, the Welton Academy. I frowned. "It's not like we saw any of them anyways. It'll just be like every other year."

"Dru, that's why we have to make this year different! I'm sick of being stuck here with all these girls who end up hating each other!" Rhea jumped onto her bed and kicked her luggage off it. "We need to get out of here!"

A knock came from the door. "Come in," I said.

Cheri and Laura smiled, pushing the door open and leaning against the door frame. "Did you say boys?" they sang in unison. Twins could do the strangest things. Cheri and Laura always wore complementary colors to each other when not in uniform. Rhea always wondered whether they planned their outfits ahead of time or not.

"We were actually wondering about a study session tomorrow night; it feels like it's been forever since we've all seen each other," Cheri said, tugging at her blonde ponytail. "We're all still hoping to go to Harvard together, right?"

"Yeah, if they decide to let us in!" Laura replied, elbowing her sister.

"Hey, we can be as good as any of the men applying, maybe even better. They can't just deny us because we're women," I said, sliding my duffel bag underneath my bed. "C'mon, keep your hopes up, ladies!" 

"You are so full of inspiration, Druscilla Stevens," Rhea said, smirking.

I threw my pillow at her.

The four of us sat at a wooden table, discussing summer vacation. It seemed like forever ago; I had met someone I really thought was amazing, and within days of meeting him, school started.

We met at the local grocery store; he was purchasing things from a list his mother gave him, while I was trying to find ingredients to a carrot cake recipe for my neighborhood's bake sale. We bashfully glanced at each other in line, and he finally spoke after our long silence.

"Carrot cake, huh?"

I nodded. "Neighborhood bake sale."

"You must be very involved."

"I try my best." I smiled at his collection of fresh produce and fine, packaged goods. "Errand for your mother?"

"Yeah." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Neil."

"Dru."

We shook hands until the cashier cleared his throat. I blushed as I stepped forward to pay for my ingredients.

The next time I saw Neil was the bake sale; he strode past, shaking hands with the moms approaching him. While I was chatting with Mrs. Edwards, Rhea's mom, Neil stood by my table, patiently listening to Mrs. Edwards' complaints about how she was so sure the gardening contest was rigged. She quickly stormed off when she saw the contest winner, some new woman in town.

"How are you doing in this heat?" he asked, fanning himself with his hand. His dark hair was matted down with sweat.

"I'm fine. How are you? Walked all the way out here to see me?" I could feel my own sweat trickling down my face, my auburn hair most likely flattened from the heat.

"I'm all right." His ears turned crimson. "I took the bus."

Rhea elbowed me aggressively, and I glared at her.

I desperately missed his company; almost every night after the bake sale, we watched the stars out in an empty parking lot in front of the grocery store, when everyone was asleep. We would take turns taking deep drags from cigarettes, blowing the smoke up into the air and watching it vanish into the sky.

"When will you see him again?" Cheri asked, wide-eyed. "It's so romantic!"

"We need to meet him!" Laura chimed in.

Rhea ran her fingers through her onyx hair. "You know, Dru, some boys are just after one thing. And you should be careful." She returned to studying Chemistry. "Which one's hydrogen peroxide again?"

Cheri leaned her head closer to my face. "Did Neil ever say goodbye?"

"Yeah."

We looked at our shoes as we whispered goodbye, the sun glowing orange on the asphalt.

"You two are so tame," Laura said, frowning.

"You need some crazy stories for when you write your novels, Dru," Rhea said, looking up from her Chemistry book. "It's your last year in high school; you may never see this boy again!"

I shrugged, returning to my Latin homework. "It's not important now; I won't see him until Thanksgiving break."

I waved my hand. "Do your homework, ladies."


End file.
